


Don't Be Afraid To Look Behind You

by Everyday_Im_Preaching



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Confessions, Cute, First Kiss, Human!Echo, Human!Zane, Love Confessions, M/M, dream - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 19:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17493647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everyday_Im_Preaching/pseuds/Everyday_Im_Preaching
Summary: It's not strange for us to have dreams about our crushes--but normally, we don't have to deal with them living right down the hall. One awkward dream and one embarrassing confession later, Jay has to come to terms with the entire, painfully unpleasant situation.Or will someone else solve his problem for him?





	Don't Be Afraid To Look Behind You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EchoJulien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoJulien/gifts).



> Hi there guys! If you like this fic, please leave a comment below!
> 
> This fic was commissioned by my bestie, EchoJulien. I will forever write for whatever rarepair you want. <3

 

Jay was hopeless; he knew it, the other ninja knew it—the only people who it didn’t seem to register with were his parents.  _ That’s their job, though, _ he muttered inwardly as he strode through the halls of the Bounty, narrowly avoiding a crash into Lloyd. Lloyd pressed against the wall opposite, overly dramatic as always. 

“Where are you going in such a rush?” Lloyd questioned. Jay ignored him, making his way toward the kitchen. He’d woken up from a dream that had him shaken to his core. In it, he’d confessed to Echo, told him that he wanted to kiss his irresistibly cute, chubby-cheeked face in a voice that was far more confident than his had ever been. The crazy part was that Echo—dream Echo—had shared how he felt. Had wrapped his arms tightly around Jay’s neck and pulled him in for a hungry, relieved kiss. 

The dream had inspired him to do exactly that. To ask Echo on a date, the moment he saw him—common sense caught up to him before he managed to leave the ninja’s shared cabin, gluing him to his bunk. His legs swung limply over the side of it. 

“Where’s your other sock?” Cole asked; Jay blinked, noticing that, indeed, his left sock was missing. Before he could answer that he didn’t know, it came flying up over the side of the bed and landed beside him. “Oh, wait, it was right down here the entire time.” Burning eyes, dark and unforgiving, swept Jay up into a loathsome gaze. 

“Uh, how did it get down there?” Jay asked, picking it up. 

“I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me,” He paused and then disappeared. “Never mind just. If you’re going to lose your socks in the middle of the night, take ‘em off first. And wash your feet, jesus.” He made a loud, uncomfortable grunting as he laid back down.

Kai peeked an eye open from his own bunk, catching Jay’s eye. “He’s been sitting there muttering about it since he got up.” He rolled over onto his stomach, shoving an arm under his pillow. “Who knew he could get so worked up over a sock. At least he doesn’t sleep above Zane. Guy sleeps so deep he makes the bed-frame shake sometimes.” 

Zane from below, was still fast asleep, arms flung at all angles and mouth open. A well-timed snort and then a low snore erupted, the timing almost perfect. Kai shrugged and buried his face back into the pillow, probably to go back to sleep.

“Did...you stay up the entire time? With Cole?” 

“Yeah,” Kai replied. “He kept muttering to himself like he was fucking possessed. Got a couple hours before Wu comes in to wake us up though, Might as well try and get back to sleep.” He snuggled into his pillow and sighed. “God, Nya is so fucking lucky she’s a girl. Gets her own room and shit.” 

“You don’t love our sleepovers? I mean, kind of sleepovers?” Jay asked playfully. He swung his legs toward the ladder. He caught sight of Cole facing away from him, already having fallen back to sleep. Jay looked at Kai and caught him looking back—he gave a wink before sliding down. His feet his the floor without a sound and then he padded his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

The thoughts that had temporarily stolen away to the back of his mind poked their way through halfway through his shower—Jay’s teeth clenched and his body went tense at the memory of the dream. He stood there until the water went cold, hoping that the water would relax him. Unfortunately, that, too, turned out to be a dream. 

“You need to loosen up,” Wu told him as they worked through their morning exercises. “You will learn nothing, this way. Take a quick break for water, and then return.” 

Jay gave a nod. “Yes, Sensei Wu” he mumbled, dipping back inside the main cabin, cheeks burning. Jay was no master by any means, but he definitely had never needed to take a break because he was too  _ tense.  _ Lightning was sharp, quick,  _ instant— _ but not  _ tense.  _

The rest of practice was pretty much the same; constant reprimandation, concerned looks from his peers, and an ultimate feeling of shame. Every time he thought he managed to shove the dream to the recesses of his mind, it would pop out of nowhere—it had him dropping his guard and left him with several new bruises against his ribs that smarted as he walked back to the showers after practice. His wrists were equally as bruised from trying to block attacks he hadn’t seen until last minute.

“You okay?” Kai asked, jogging up beside him. The concern in his face was more than Jay deserved, and he gave him a half-assed smile, not quite sure he could manage a real one. 

“I mean, I’ve had better days,” Jay replied. He ran a hand through his hair. “Probably going to take an ice bath tonight.” He flipped his hands over, showing bruised knuckles. “Knees are pretty scraped up too, but it comes with the territory, huh?” 

Kai nodded, though his concern didn’t lessen. “You sleep alright last night? You seem kind of out of it. You sick or somethin’?” He nudged Jay with his elbow and Jay rolled his eyes. 

“I’m fine. Stop worrying.” He bumped his shoulder against Kai’s, smile unfolding into something more genuine. “We all have off days. Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.” Kai nodded, though he didn’t look any more convinced than he’d been before. 

“Alright, but you know, if you need to talk, I’m here for you. We’re all here for you.” He straightened. “I’m going to go monopolise the TV. Wanna come?” 

Jay held up a hand. “Nah. I’m going scrub real quick, get changed—then find something to eat in the kitchen. Zane mentioned making lunch, and I am not going to miss out on that.” Kai gave a soft chuckle in return and paused—Nya had grabbed at his shoulder to get his attention. 

Jay didn’t stick around to hear why. He scurried off, darting away from the group to take a quick shower; it turned from a shower to a cold, ice-bath instead, deciding that he didn’t want to have to clean himself again. The morning had been a mistake in itself. He hissed as he lowered himself down into his tub, skin smarting where the water touched it, more than the cold.

“These are going to hurt a lot more tomorrow,” Jay muttered. And, bruised or not, he’d have to get right back out there. The wicked didn’t rest, and that meant they couldn’t either. He leaned back in the tub, fixing his eyes on the wooden slats above the bathtub. Kai’s name was burned carefully into the far corner and Jay scowled at it—until he saw where he’d burned in his own name. 

Jay’s bath took longer than he expected it to, and he hoped that he still had time to catch Zane in the kitchen—and that’s when he’d ran into Lloyd, that’s where he was  _ now,  _ shuffling down the hallway in hopes of finding Zane by himself. If there was anyone else in the kitchen, then he’d have to wait until the evening to corner him. 

Before walking in, Jay pressed his ear to the door—he could hear the vague sound of dishes gently knocking against each other, some plastic, some glass. He couldn’t hear anything else, no music or chatter—it  _ had  _ to be Zane on the other side. Zane preferred the quiet, when he was in the kitchen. If anybody else was in there with him, they’d be talking his ear off, or playing something obnoxious on their phones. 

When he entered, Jay didn’t bother looking toward the sink. Instead he turned toward the fridge, staring at it with a fixed, empty gaze. He didn’t want to look at Zane. He didn’t need to—the moment he saw him this morning, he’d known. 

“So, the craziest thing happened,” Jay started staring at the tarnished silver handle of the fridge. “With Echo. Not real life Echo, but you know, dream Echo. The one who actually likes me back.” He pulled the fridge open, eye twitching as he heard the hinges squeak. He’d have to fix that this afternoon, if he could manage the use of his hands without permanently injuring himself.

He scanned the fridge, humming to himself. “He’s just so cute, you know? I can’t stop my brain from making up sickenly cute scenarios where we make out and stuff. Sorry, I know he’s your brother, but it’s just not fair—how do you even manage to score a cute guy like that?” Jay held up a hand before Zane could speak. “No, stop, you’re just going to tell me to tell him how I feel, and we both know that’s not an option. You and Kai are in a completely different league—I mean, everyone could tell that the two of you were ready to jump each other.” 

Jay grabbed a small, plastic yogurt cup. After a second of thought, he also grabbed the carton of cottage cheese with his name scrawled sloppily across the side of it. He popped the lid open awkwardly and gave it a smell. Finding it still good, he pressed the lid back down. “Me and Echo? Nah. I mean, Echo’s nice to me but I think it’s only cause we all live on the same ship? It’s like, how Nya doesn’t dangle Kai over the side of the ship anymore. They have to get along. I guess.” 

“It’s just hard liking him, knowing that there’s no chance of him liking me back.” 

There was the sharp sound of glass hitting tile and Jay jumped, hands sparking with electricity—he whipped around, Zane’s name dying on his lips before he could put any sound to it. 

_ Zane  _ hadn’t been the one in the kitchen. No, it hadn’t been Zane at all—instead, Echo stood there, staring at him with large, almost copper-colored eyes. His mouth was pressed into a line, neither firm nor pursed. Shocked nearly expressionless he stared at Jay. Jay popped his lips and, upon smelling something burning, dropped the plastic tub of cottage cheese. He cursed as it burst open on the floor, a mess of white curds and now-burnt plastic.

Before Jay could apologise, or anything else for that matter, Lloyd peeked into the room. 

“I heard something break—Jay, Echo, everything okay?” His footsteps were near silent as he ghosted into the room. He cocked an eyebrow upon seeing the mess on the floor. “What happened?”

“I, um, wasn’t paying attention?” Jay offered. He put the yogurt on the kitchen island. “I’ll clean this up.” 

Echo made a soft noise of shame. “Yes, I...I probably scared him when I dropped the bowl. I’m sorry, Jay, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Jay didn’t look up, unsure of what he’d see on Echo’s face. “I’ll have to remake the brownie batter.” 

“You’re making brownies?” Lloyd’s attention was immediately drawn from the mess that Jay had made to the promise of sweets. He looked at the window that was placed over the sink. “Ship must’ve jerked or something—you’re still getting used to the place after all.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “And he’s just clumsy, so.” 

“No, I’m sure I’m the clumsy one,” Echo replied. Jay could hear the smile in his voice, and his heart stuttered. Was it as sweet as his voice had made it sound? Jay shook his head. Of  _ course  _ it was. It always was. Jay kept his head down as he finished wiping up the cottage cheese. 

Jay was hoping to catch Echo alone after Lloyd left. He had to apologise for being a complete and total idiot. But he didn’t want to do it in front of someone else, that means he would have to explain the entire situation and  _ that  _ was a whole other level of embarrassment that he couldn’t handle. But Lloyd decided to linger, and then was quickly joined by the other ninja walking in and out of the kitchen for various reasons.

In the end, Jay left when Cole asked him why he was standing around. He’d given some shitty explanation and laughed the question off, scrambling to be anywhere else. Jay then had tried to busy himself with anything that would eat up time. But he kept reliving the shame of the day. 

He skipped dinner, taking to the main deck. It’d be questioned, sure, but he had time to come up with a decent excuse. 

The air was heavy and thick, promising rain with every brush of cool wind against his cheeks. He took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of an oncoming storm. Jay leaned against the wooden railing and looked down, staring at the layer of clouds that separated the ship from the cities below.

“Hey.”

Jay jumped as he heard Echo’s voice, soft and unsure. His shoulders rose to his ears and his cheeks began to burn without further prompting. He turned his head slightly, keeping them focused to the floor.

“Hey,” he replied softly. He turned back to look at the clouds, trying to resist the urge to just hurl himself over the edge. 

“What are you doing out here?” Echo asked.

Jay shrugged. “Trying to pick the right time to throw myself over the railing of the ship. Maximum splaltitude. You know like, splat and altitude—” he cut himself off. “—what are you doing out here?” 

“Also thinking of hurling myself off the side of the ship,” Echo replied as he came closer. He joined Jay, propping his elbows onto the old, worn wood. “Find a good place yet?” 

He shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll tell you if a good opportunity presents itself.” Echo laughed and shook his head—and then shook his head again when a piece of hair planted itself over his eye. “Look, I...I’m sorry, about what happened in the kitchen. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, or make anything weird between us.” 

“You’re sorry?” Echo asked, leaning forward to peek a bit further over the edge. “You melted your own tub of cottage cheese. I broke one of Zane’s mixing bowls.”

Jay winced. “Well, you’re still here, so he didn’t kill you. Bet you’re going to be saving your paycheck for a bit to pay for it though. Zane’s bowls are antiques and old as dust.” 

“Believe me, I know. Zane already gave me a lecture about it. But he’s not making me pay him back, so,” he ran a hand through his hair and his feet shuffled across the floor. “So, what you said in the kitchen. Did you...was that all true?” 

Jay’s voice stuck in his throat. He focused his eyes on his fingers, watching each calloused digit run over its counterpart. “I, yeah. I did. I really didn’t want you to find out that way, if find out at all, because, I...well, it’s weird, and I know it’s weird. And it’s weirder that I’m talking to your brother about it?” He pressed his hands to his face, wanting to scream. 

Echo was quiet for a moment, scratching his nails against the wood of the rail. “I...well, I don’t think it’s that weird. Any of it. I think it’s cute.” Jay pulled his hands away to look at Echo, who’s cheeks were as red as his own. Except he wasn’t looking away. Instead, he caught Jay’s gaze and offered him a heart-wrenching, half-smile. “I think  _ you’re  _ cute. And I like you back.” 

“I,” Jay stared at him, mouth hanging open just the slightest. “You...you like me?” His voice cracked, and he quickly cleared his throat. “Me?” Echo laughed at him whilst nodding. Jay went to cup his face in his own hands, then dragged them down it in frustration. “Oh my god, oh my—” 

His panic was cut short when hands pressed against his chest. Jay looked down at them and then at Echo’s face. It was still red, but he was smiling. He was smiling that sweet, confident smile—Jay carefully wrapped his arms around Echo’s waist and rolled his lips between his teeth. 

“Echo?” 

Echo didn’t respond, instead pressing up onto the pads of his feet. His mouth brushed Jay’s and Jay felt the familiar feeling of static play at the base of his neck. All the same, he leaned into the kiss, joining their lips firmly and tightening his grip on Echo. Echo snorted and slid his arms up to wrap them around Jay’s neck. 

“Oh my god,” Jay whispered when they pulled apart. “Oh my god, uh, Echo, you,” He nuzzled their noses together, unthinking. “Echo, I, oh my god, this is the best day of my life.” Jay pulled back a bit further and had to stifle a laugh. “Might not be your best hair day, though.” 

Echo detached a hand to run it through his hair, finding that the static from Jay had travelled up his arm to make it stand on end. Echo narrowed his eyes playfully and pointed at Jay. “Look who’s talking.” 

“Hey, this is my  _ look.  _ I’m the elemental master of lightning.” He thought about letting Echo go, but instead pressed a kiss to his mouth, fleeting and soft. “I’m a walking bad hair day and I pull it off with style.” He wanted to keep kissing Echo, forever and ever and  _ ever.  _ He felt like if he let him go, he’d wake up from some sort of dream. 

Echo pressed their foreheads together, relaxing further. “Now I understand all those bad romance movies. Lack of communication is really a killer.” He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Zane kept your dinner in the microwave for you.” 

“He did? Huh. Must’ve known I was coming back,” Jay unwillingly let go of Echo, but offered his hand. “Want to go back together? I mean, you don’t have to come with, I’m sure you have other things to do.” 

Echo’s hand slid into his and gave it a tight squeeze. “I think I can sacrifice a bit of time for you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! Welcome to the end of this fic :) 
> 
> Song(s) for this fic:  
> Sunflower by Post Malone, Swae Lee  
> Bad Ideas by Tessa Violet
> 
> Want to stay updated? Want to chat or shoot me a prompt? Have an idea that you'd like me to consider for this pairing? Feel free to click [here](http://everyday-im-preaching.tumblr.com/) to do all these things and more!


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